May 18, 2010

the tax they didn't tell us about...

It's been a long day, and after I left the mall at 9:40 (because the printer decided to be stupid and waste 20 minutes before it finally printed our paperwork), I stopped at Sonic to get a little snack. I ordered a junior burger ($1), and said I had a coupon for a large creamslush for 99 cents. This is all I ordered.

The guy had some trouble understanding which coupon I had. I repeated it three or four times, and he finally said it back correctly, and I confirmed. Then he says, "Your total is $3 at the window."

$3? I figured he got too many burgers, or didn't do the coupon right, but it's easier to talk face-to-face. So I pull up to the window (after waiting behind two other cars), and the guy opens it and says, "That's $3."

"I ordered a $1 jurnior burger and a 99 cent creamslush," I said. "That's only $2 plus tax, which should only be 15 cents at most."

"Yes, you have a $1 burger and a 99 cent slush. The tax must be $1."

At this I have to resist the urge to reach out of my car and smack him on the back of his head, Gibbs-style. "Sir," I said, "the tax rate is not 50%. If there is $1 tax on my order, you are overcharging on tax."

He got a bit flustered and went to find his manager. The manager comes back and say, "Okay, your total is $2.57." I explain, again, that it can't be $2.57 any more than it can be $3. For two items that are only $1.99 before tax, the total will be no more than $2.15.

By now, my burger is getting cold, and my creamslush is melting. The manager starts messing with the register, but he can't seem to get it to accept that the total of my order is only going to be $2.15. Finally, he tells the workerbee to "just take care of it". So I give him $5.15 and ask for $3 back. The worker seems to balk at this, but I'm not leaving without my $3.

So there's my story of the week. Some of the Sonic employees in town are trying to charge 50% tax--that's how they are making money on their $1 menu :P

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